Trial Set in NCAA Player Likeness Lawsuit

Though EA Sports was recently dismissed as a defendant from the player likeness lawsuit originally filed in 2009 it will proceed against the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing Company after surviving another attempt to dismiss by those two parties. The outcome could have significant influence on NCAA licensed sports games in the future so the case remains of high interest.

It will be a long wait however for that decision to come down as the trial has been set to begin on March 11th 2013. The lawsuit (originally filed as two separate suits but later combined) has been represented by former players Sam Keller and Ed O’Bannon. They argue that the parties in question violated anti-trust law by conspiring to profit off the use of player likenesses without proper compensation. The lawsuit is not solely related to video games but also includes areas such as television broadcast contracts and merchandise sales.